TikTok star Bella Bradford, 24, announces death from cancer in final video message | World News
A TikTok star has announced her death from cancer in a poignant pre-recorded video.
Bella Bradford, 24, created a final goodbye for her followers on the social media platform after months of sharing details of life as a young woman living with a rare form of the disease.
“I’m really sad to be making this video,” she said. “As we all know, I have terminal cancer and unfortunately my life has, by now, come to an end, and I’ve passed away.”
The video was a final “Get Ready With Me” post, often used by influencers to share fashion and beauty content.
Bella told her followers she wanted to do “one final ‘Get Ready With Me’ because I love doing these, and I love fashion”.
She added: “Thank you for following me on this fun journey. I hope you will look back on all my videos and find a little bit of joy in your day.”
The video, shared earlier this month, has been watched by more than 4.7m viewers.
In a caption posted with the clip, Bella wrote: “Thank you for all your love and support throughout my final stages of life, I am so grateful. Filming these videos truly brought me a sense of purpose in my final few months and also connected me with a very kind community of people.
“I wish you all a beautiful life and please remember to live each day with as much significance as the next. What a privilege it is to grow old.”
She finished by writing: “Thank you for allowing me to be myself on this platform, I really felt excited each day to jump on here and connect over our shared love of life and fashion.”
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Bella, from Australia, posted regular outfit updates, as well as health updates.
Earlier this year, she shared details of how she was diagnosed in December 2021, saying she started suffering pain in her mouth.
At first, she thought it was her wisdom teeth coming through. However, after further investigation, she was diagnosed with a rare form of cancer in her jaw.
Doctors operated on a tumour, she said, and she had radiotherapy and chemotherapy.
After sharing her outfit details in her final video, she concluded by saying: “Thank you guys so much for this wild and wonderful ride. I hope you all have beautiful, amazing lives. I wish all the best for every single one of you.”